The global 2019 virus disease (COVID-19) epidemic has been prolonged for more than a year, and the amount of masks needed to prevent the epidemic has increased dramatically, leading to another pandemic problem: plastic pollution. Therefore, the United States, France and Australia are trying to find ways to recycle, but the challenge remains daunting.
According to the American Chemical Society (American Chemical Society) survey, the world currently uses about 129 billion pieces of disposable masks per month. Made of polypropylene, elastic bands and metal, these masks are usually thrown in the trash for burial or incineration after use, but they can also pollute streets, rivers and oceans and harm wildlife by being littered.
Researchers and companies are looking for ways to put used masks to good use. For example, Australian researchers are trying to find ways to make masks into paving materials, while some in the United States have made benches from recycled masks, and some companies in France have recycled masks into car mats. But such pioneering endeavors are still far from being profitable.
The Thermal Compaction Group, based in Cardiff, England, has launched a compressor that melts and compresses used gowns and surgical masks into thick blue sheets that can be used as material for patio tables and chairs, and several British hospitals have already purchased them.
French recycling company Tri-o et Greenwishes collects used masks put into special trash cans for a monthly fee starting at 250 euros (about 8,500 NTD), and currently has about 30 such customers, including major hospitals in Paris, TF1 and building materials giant Saint-Gobain. President Matthieu de Chanaleilles says there is “great demand” for the mask recycling service.
At Tri-o et Greenwishes’ recycling plant, staff dressed in protective clothing and standing behind clear acrylic panels sort out tissues, gloves and cups that have been accidentally dropped into the mask recycling bin before being sprayed with disinfectant. The sorting area is also disinfected with UV lights, and used masks are segregated for a week before disposal.
The isolated masks are shredded, disinfected and polypropylene extracted by two companies in northern France, and the polypropylene is then made into small pellets that can be used to make car mats or other plastic parts for cars.
Tri-o et Greenwishes has so far recycled one metric ton of masks and expects to reach 20 metric tons by the end of this year; however, this is a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of masks used. According to a report presented by the French Parliament in January of this year, about 40,000 metric tons of masks were thrown into the trash in France last year due to the lack of recycling options.
TerraCycle in Trenton, New Jersey, sells a disposable mask recycling box called the “zero waste box,” which costs $88 (about NT$2,500) per piece. The collected masks will be sent to a partner factory to be recycled into plastic pellets, which will then be sold to other manufacturers to be made into benches, flooring materials and freight pallets.
TerraCycle’s CEO Tom Szaky told AFP that recycling PPE is more expensive than recycling aluminum. “Why not recycle things like dirty diapers or personal protective equipment? Because it costs far more to collect and dispose of, and the results are worse. Because there’s no money to be made, so no one is asking for trouble to recycle.”
But TerraCycle’s business logic is, “If someone is willing to pay those real costs, we can provide that [recycling] service.”
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